Calls
by batman-defeats-all
Summary: Barbara was not in her apartment for the past day. While she was gone, though, it turned out those she cared about needed her gravely, and she would not have known if not for a call she received while she was not there... Dick/Babs


**I do not own Young Justice.**

Barbara slumped into her apartment, exhausted. Unceremoniously slamming the door with her foot, she staggered over to her couch, ignoring the many messes she past on her way. Her usually tidy apartment was extremely unorganized, books scattered everywhere, piles of dishes piled high in the kitchen, clothing laying around in the oddest of places.

She hadn't had time to clean in nearly a week, though, so it was understandable. She had been studying so often recently that she had to push away everything else, which included cleaning.

And any extra-curricular that may or may not be fighting crime.

In fact, she hadn't even been at her apartment since the morning before, she had been so busy studying. Which, of course, meant she had to catch up on a few things...

… Like the seven missed messages on her land line phone.

"It's official... I'm buying a damn cell phone..." she muttered to herself as she started playing the messages.

"Hey, Babs, this is Dick. I know you're studying a lot right now, and asked to not be disturbed until you get through these tests, but the Team has a mission against the Joker tonight, and having people used to him there is always helpful. Jay and I can't be the only ones who know even slightly how he works! So, yeah, we'd really appreciate if you were able to help out tonight. Call me back!"

Barbara blinked as the message ended. Too bad that was for the night before, she would have been willing to help out with that. Dick and Jason probably ended up losing their tempers with non-clown exposed team members last night...

She was interrupted from her thoughts as the next message started.

"Hey, Babsy! Yeah, this is Wally, I just wanted to know if you could possibly help me out with this paper due in a few days... Just, call me back if you're willing to help!"

She had already started rolling her eyes as a new voice sounded out.

"This is Artemis. Ignore Wally. He's being an idiot, and he can write his own paper, he's just PO-ed that Dick refused to help."

There was a smirk on her face as she continued listening.

"Barbara, this is your father. I hope you remember that police dinner that you promised to go to later this week. There is no way I'm going through that thing alone!"

Barbara rolled her eyes, a fond smile on her face.

"Jason here, Dickie-Bird said you weren't responding, and now he's freaking out thinking you're dead or something. So, yeah, call him back soon. He's kinda starting to scare me. You know how he gets..."

She had just placed her face in her hands, about to groan, when the next message started, freezing her in her tracks.

"H-hey B-barbara. T-his is D-dick," She could tell from his voice that Dick had been crying while making the call. Surely worrying about her wouldn't cause such a reaction?

"I-I j-just wanted to...to tell you that... J-Jay, he.. he"

Barbara's blood ran cold as the next words were spoken.

"He's g-gone..."

She didn't even hear the end of the message, or whatever the last one was. All she could hear was those words, over and over in her head, echoing through, taunting her.

_Jason's... gone?_

The message from the boy had only been hours before, surely that... couldn't be...

She jumped up, grabbed her car keys, and was on her way to Wayne Manor in seconds.

It did not take long to reach the stately manor. She knew the way by heart now, both through visiting Dick constantly over the years and having to get to the cave. There wasn't any traffic either, so she was soon parking her dark green vehicle, nearly running to the doors.

When she knocked, instead of getting a cheerful greeting from Alfred like she expected, the butler opened the door somberly, his face emotionless except for pure sadness in his eyes, tears clearly threatening to brim over.

"Hello, Ms. Gordon. I assume you received Master Richard's phone call?" His voice was steady, but the thinly veiled tragedy was so very much there.

"Y-yes," she had honestly been hoping she somehow misinterpreted the message, but Alfred's response just proved it was in fact the obvious answer. "Where is he?" Dick would take this harder than anyone else.

"He is down in the cave, with what... remains of Master Jason."

She smiled sadly at the English butler as she rushed through the door, nearly running to the cave. Once she entered the area, though, the scene she found made her wish she had been less hasty to enter.

Dick was leaning against an examination table, his whole upper body supported, weeping silently. What was on the table, though, nearly made her wish to do the same.

Jason was laying on the cold steel, his skin even paler than usual, and angry red gashes were scattered about said skin. His costume was ripped in multiple places, blood-soaked in many others. His mouth was drawn shut, and his eyes were shut closed.

What she found worse of all, though, was just the fact Jason wasn't _moving_. At _all_. The boy was always showing off in some way, always slipping through crowds, moving almost as swiftly as Dick could.

And now he was still. Completely and utterly still, with no chances of ever moving again.

"... What happened?" she asked, pulling a chair next to Dick.

"I-I told him to stay back... That he shouldn't follow the Joker..." Dick muttered, nearly to himself, as he answered cryptically. It was enough of an answer for these purposes.

It was enough of an answer for her to know that Dick blamed himself.

Yeah, _totally big surprise there..._

She responded to the broken words, and the broken boy, by wrapping her arms around Dick, letting him bury his face in her scarlet hair.

"I-I tried to stop him, Babs! I really did!"

"I know you did, Dick. I'm sure Jason does, too."

As they continued this, Dick leaning against her, weeping, and she just sitting there, just made her wish that the world wasn't so broken.

That Dick wouldn't have to be used to being overprotective because he had never lost anyone important.

That Bruce could actually smile every once and awhile...

That Jason... wasn't...

The world was screwed up, no denying it.

Being in the arms of the one you loved, however, letting all that pain out at your darkest times... That helped made the world just a little bit better, if even just for the moment.


End file.
